And thus begins the second chapter of my second book, Pointe of No Return, which features a kidnapping (and search for the missing girl) during Nutcracker rehearsals at a performing arts boarding school. My heroine, freshman ballet student Dani Spevak, is assigned to understudy her rival Hadley Taylor as the Sugar Plum Fairy, when Hadley goes missing. And in typical Dani fashion, he sets out to find her.

I’ve never solved mysteries, but Dani and I have several things in common. First of all, we love to dance. Okay, that’s a given. You probably share that with us as well, if you’re reading Catherine Tully’s wonderful 4dancers blog.

We both consider Nut season to be “the most wonderful time of the year” (even though my 3-year-old told me yesterday she can’t go see Nutcracker because she’s allergic to nuts). And we’ve both ended up getting to perform in a ballet even when we thought we’d been relegated to understudy status.

In my case, I was understudying a performance of Gaite Parisienne and one of the older girls in the company got hospitalized with bulimia. It was a weird feeling for me. A real paradox. On the one hand, I was super excited to get to perform, but that meant that Rachel was very, very sick. And you can’t exactly celebrate that, you know?

Same thing with Dani. Hadley’s missing, and it’s actually not in her best interest to find her – this way she gets to dance – but how can you really celebrate that (even if Hadley is the meanest girl in school)? You can’t.

So I took that awkward feeling and built a story around it. Only I changed the basic facts as to why my heroine got to dance. Because while a story about eating disorders might be relevant from a social commentary standpoint (and I do weave them in as a subplot), it probably wouldn’t make for a very good plot. (Or at least not the type of plot I write.) [Read more…]

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There is almost nothing I enjoy more than pointing out that the qualities that make a great ballet dancer can be harnessed for other things—and this book is a perfect example. Sophie Flack was a dancer with New York City Ballet from 2000 to 2009, and after leaving the company she is now studying English at Columbia University. She is also the author of Bunheads – a thoughtfully crafted novel about life in the world of ballet.

Written with an authenticity that can only be garnered by experience, Ms. Flack creates an inviting cast of characters that draws the reader in right away. The main character, Hannah Ward, is a corps de ballet dancer with the Manhattan Ballet, and the story is told through her eyes. We follow her through the ups and downs of her career as she competes for roles, pushes to improve her dancing and sacrifices much of what a “normal” life would otherwise be for her first love—ballet.

As the story evolves, conflict arises within Hannah when she meets a handsome musician named Jacob. The connection between the two of them is strong, but having a relationship with someone outside of the ballet world proves to be incredibly difficult—a fact she struggles with. Hannah begins to compare her life in dance to the idea of living life without the demands of being with the company, and knows she must eventually choose which path she will take.

Ms. Flack is a skilled writer and it’s easy to disappear into the pages of this book because she has built a solid story that rings of truth and passion. By having been an insider in this typically closed world, she is able to show both the beauty of it–and the strain. Those who have experienced life in a ballet class or company are sure to find themselves nodding in recognition with the trials and triumphs Hannah faces along the way. That said, I think that Bunheads would also appeal to those outside the ballet arena. The book provides a rare peek behind the scenes into the day-to-day life of a dancer, but not in a way that would leave other readers behind.

My absolute favorite part of this book is the way Ms. Flack crafted the circle of friends that Hannah hangs around with in the company. The dancers that she spends every day with are at the same time her closest pals—and her toughest rivals. It makes for an unusual situation, that in ballet is actually very common. Somehow you have to learn to walk the fine line between being a competitor and a confidant. It certainly isn’t easy, and here it is captured so very well.

This is undoubtedly the best fiction book on the life of a ballet dancer that I have read in a long time and I highly recommend it. Younger dancers will find a great story that they can relate to and older dancers will be transported back in time for a bit of reminiscing. This would make a perfect gift for someone who loves dance.

Hats off to Sophie Flack for taking the creativity, determination and attention to detail it takes to be a ballet dancer and writing her first novel. I look forward to the next one.

This week on “10 Questions With…” we’re featuring Sophie Flack, author of “Bunheads”… a book about the ballet world. I’m reading it right now, and it’s fabulous!

1. How did you get involved in dance?

When I was seven, the Boston Ballet studios were under renovation and they temporarily relocated to my school gymnasium. I’d see these lithe ballerinas lingering in the hallways as they stretched and spoke to one another between rehearsals. I begged my mother to take ballet classes, but I was too shy to walk into theclass that first day. I wanted my mother to go with me. It took me six months to find the courage to walk in alone.

2. What is your dance background?

I began my training at the Boston Ballet School learning the Vaganova technique. When I was eleven I was introduced to the Balanchine technique by Patricia McBride at the Chautauqua summer intensive. After watching a video of McBride dancing Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, I decided that I wanted to dance with the New York City Ballet, because I wanted to move like she did.

When I returned home, I transferred to Ballet Workshop of New England in order to study Balanchine technique. I spent my summers training with Suzanne Farrell, Gloria Govrin, Violette Verdy and Patricia McBride.

My mother would drive me to New York City in order to take private lessons with Nancy Bielski and Wilhelm Burmann, some of the best coaches in the country. I took open classes at Steps on Broadway alongside New York City Ballet dancers, and regular Pilates privates with Laurie Hurt.

At fifteen, I was accepted into the School of American Ballet on full scholarship and moved to New York City alone. At age seventeen, I joined the New York City Ballet as an apprentice and became a member of the corps de ballet the following year.

After dancing with the New York City Ballet for nine years, I retired from professional dance in 2009.

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